October 30 Rock And Roll History

It's time for another blast from the past with rock and roll history on ZOZ!

On this day in 1961, three people came to Brian Epstein's record store in Liverpool and asked for The Beatles' German single "My Bonnie," which was recorded with Tony Sheridan. Epstein, the Beatles' manager, had difficulty locating the record because the credit was given to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers. The reason for that was because the word "Beatles" represents a vulgar slang word in German, so the band had to change their name for this release.

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In 1971, John Lennon had the number one album on both sides of the Atlantic with "Imagine." It was Lennon's only solo LP to sell a million copies, as well as his most popular album until "Double Fantasy," which went to number one shortly after his death.

In 1978 on this day, KISS was featured in an animated cartoon called "Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park" on NBC-TV.

In 1998, David Bowie hosted a songwriting contest to help finish the lyrics to his new song, "What's Really Happening." A 20-year-old named Alex Grant was the winner, and was later able to come to the studio for the song's recording session.

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And in 2015, Billy Joel sang the national anthem at the third game of the World Series between the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals. During the 8th inning, "Piano Man" was played over the P.A., and Joel sang along with the crowd.